60. Sumo Wrestling
Sumo is a Japanese style of wrestling and Japan's national sport. In line with tradition, only men practice the sport professionally in Japan.
From around the Heian period (794-1192), the imperial family often watched sumo as a form of entertainment. Sumo evolved over many centuries, with the first professional sumo wrestlers appearing in the Edo period (1603-1868). Because of this long history, sumo is considered Japan's national sport.
The rules of sumo wrestling are simple: the wrestler who first exits the ring or touches the ground with any part of his body besides the soles of his feet loses. Matches take place on an elevated ring (dohyo), which is made of clay and covered in a layer of sand. Usually a contest lasts only a few seconds, but in rare cases it can take a minute or more. There are no weight restrictions or classes in sumo, meaning that wrestlers can easily find themselves matched off against someone many times their size. As a result, weight gain is an essential part of sumo training.
Due to traditional Japanese diet, it would be hard to gain weight in a country where everyone is very slim, so sumo wrestlers diet consist of chankonabe. Chankonabe is a type of Japanese stew made to pack on the pounds, on average it has 10,000 calories. This dish has various of meats and vegetables in it, this is much better than eating junk foot after a long day of training or a tournament.
There are many religious traditions in sumo: wrestlers sip sacred water and throw purifying salt into the ring before a match; the referee dresses like a Shinto priest, a Shinto shrine hangs over the ring. When wrestlers enter the ring they clap their hands to summon the gods. In addition to wrestlers’ colorful mawashi (belly bands) and distinctive hair styles called oicho, both of which evoke images of ancient times.
- The more you know~
